The Doctor and the Orphan
by Johanna Holmes
Summary: Grace Carter, sixteen years old, an orphan, alone and misunderstood. No one wants to have anything to do with her but when she meets a man called the Doctor she finally doesn't just have someone who listens to her but someone who gives her a new life...
1. Don't be sad (1)

This is my first Doctor Who story ever. I've been a fan for a long time but were always a bit afraid of writing FanFiction but well... here I am now. These are going to be the adventures of Grace and Nine but will probably at some point also go to the stories of the show. Unfortunately I don't own anything of Doctor Who and also don't have a role in it. (Well, maybe one day. Who knows what's still coming?)

* * *

Grace Carter, just a sixteen year old girl you might say, had very often found her way to the local graveyard in the past years. People who knew her briefly suggested that this simply came with the way she dressed like, what music she listened to, what books she read and what she spoke about. But this of course was ridiculous. There is always so much to learn from so many things we have not seen yet. So at least Grace liked to think and because she was drawn to places and things most people were afraid of she always sat alone on the little bench next to a dark green tree on the graveyard. For her this was one of her favourite places, it had always been. The peaceful silence, the movement of the trees in the wind and the look of those beautiful made gravestones that could tell so many stories. Venomous tongues even whispered that Grace stayed over night on the graveyard but she had never cared about such rumours, she even found it funny sometimes that people looked at her, thought she was weird and quickly walked away. Grace Carter had got used to the fact of being alone years ago. As long as she had books, music and something to write everything else did not matter.

On the bench now she sat with a small red notebook in her hand writing once again one of her poems. She had come here again to get some rest, here no one disturbed her, here nobody saw her looking, although she did not want to admit it, depressed. She did not have this feeling all the time but within the last couple of months it had come to her more often over the time. There was this strange feeling she could not explain: it was like something was missing, nothing materialistic but the simple feeling like there was still something out there she had not seen yet but knew she would have liked to have it…

Grace raised the head from her poem. She needed to come up with the next two lines. She let her eyes wander around and looked at all the different plants and all those grey but beautiful graves. Her gaze stopped at a bigger grave that had been made for a whole family. She felt sorry that this entire family had died but at least they had gone together and spent time as a family. Now Grace moved the pencil again because the look of the family grave had given her an idea when she saw someone in the corner of her eye. Surprised she looked to her left. She was sure that there had not been someone a few moments ago.

He was a man probably facing the last year of his thirties. His feet were moving in a normal speed but his eyes looked around carefully. He was of normal statue and simply dressed with black jeans, an ordinary dark green jumper and a black leather jacket which he wore open. But there was something else that caught Grace's attention. There was this look in those grey and endless eyes of the man. He probably appeared normal for most of the people but there was something odd about him that made Grace staring at him for a long time. This look in his eyes was so empty and also a bit sad but at the same time Grace felt that these eyes had seen so many things, beautiful things, things that were beyond imagination but also things that were terribly sad and filled with horror.

Whether she imagined all those feelings and experiences in the man's eyes or not Grace was unable to say but there was something else that also caught her attention: this man walked over the graveyard like she was not used to it from other people. He seemed not to be afraid of the feeling of death because the look on his face told Grace that this man felt interest and honour and had an open heart for their stories. When the man turned his head in her direction she quickly looked back at her notebook but she still kept watching him from the corner of her eye. She felt a bit ashamed of herself because usually she did not stare at people like this unless it was someone really good looking but even then the look was only brief. This man here was maybe not the handsomest she had seen so far but after all it was also more his presence than his look which gave Grace the thoughts. She tried to concentrate on her poem which she had still not finished but there was continuously something hammering in the back of her mind. Again and again she started with the same words of the upcoming verse but her thoughts always seemed to drift away… Desperately she had to look up once more.

And then he suddenly stood there right in front of her.


	2. Don't be sad (2)

"May I?" he said and pointed at the seat on the bank next to Grace.

"Yes, of course." she answered right away but could not help it that she was bit surprised.

He did not just walk past her as almost everybody did. He had not looked afraid as he had seen her with her ripped, dark clothes, her very pale face colour and the rivets all over the things she wore. Most people always scanned her with a strange look or shook their heads and tried to avoid her presence. But not this man; he had asked if he could sit next to her.

And so Grace sat there being confused but also somehow happy but trying not to show this too obviously. She shook her head a bit to concentrate again and came back to her poem. She let her gaze wander once more to think better and to look around. But she tried to avoid looking too much to the left because she did not dare it to look at the man she had been staring at. She led her eyes wander hoping that it would not look stupid to the man sitting next to her but he did not seem to take any more serious notice of her. Then finally a thought stroke Grace, the inspiration she had been looking for and she started writing again.

"What are you writing about?"

Nervously quick Grace's head moved around and she looked up into the man's eyes. For the fraction of a second she was petrified. He looked so thoughtfully and empty and strong at the same time.

"Time" she eventually answered his question.

For a short moment she thought to have seen interest shining in the grey eyes of the man

"Not the most usual thing to write about as a teenager." the man responded in his northern accent.

"I know." Grave answered him with a hidden smile. "But I think about those things very often, I don't understand why the others don't."

The man led his gaze wander for a moment as well. But he was not mocking her or seemed to think that she was weird. Well, maybe he did; Grace could not really say what the man felt like.

"Can I hear it?"

Grace stared at him. Nervously she turned the pencil around in her right hand.

"But it's not finished yet…" she tried to answer him with a shaky voice but the expression on the man's face showed her that he wanted to hear it anyway.

Grace look moved unsurely between her little notebook and the man who was gently smiling at her. Then her eyes focused on the written words.

_Time stays never still and lets you see_

_What has been and what will be_

_Even when the world falls with me and you_

_Time is always going to bring something new_

_We think for our lives that time will end_

_But not if you have spent it with a friend_

_Time tells stories of a long forgotten scream_

_But in the end you will always see a gleam_

Grace only slowly managed it to look up again. Her breathing was flat but quick. The man was staring, how long he had not blinked Grace was unable to say. She felt strange and did not know how she should react or if she was supposed to say something. But she did not regret to have read the poem to him because this would have been one of the most pathetic things for Grace if she started to be ashamed of things she believed in.

"What's your name?" the man finally asked after a few seconds of silence.

"Grace" she answered him. "Grace Carter"

"You're a very unusual teenager, Grace Carter." the man said with a small grin.

"Yeah, people always say that." Grace responded trying to hide something in her voice. "But that's the way I am."

The man looked into her eyes before his look eventually wandered off again. Grace let a short moment pass.

"And your name is?"

"The Doctor" the man answered politely.

"You are really just called the Doctor?" Grace responded doubtfully and a little bit confused.

"That's me." he said smiling; he seemed to have heard this kind of question before.

"That's a cool name." Grace eventually said amused. "Has something."

The Doctor's smile disappeared for a second. He looked down to Grace who was smiling and looking around again.

"Thanks" he responded.

Grace's head turned back at him. They looked into each other's eyes for a moment without saying anything. Grace was still trying to figure out what it was that gave this man such an interesting and strange presence.

"So…" Grace then said after a few seconds because she began to feel weird. "Doctor…"

She still had to think about something she could say now.

"You don't seem to have visited a grave or are about to… What is it that you're doing here?"

"Probably the same thing why you are here." the Doctor responded simply.

"You look at those graves like I look at them too." Grace suddenly spoke out her mind. "Is the graveyard for you a place of sadness and strangeness or…"

She wasn't quite sure how to say it and if she even dared to.

"A place to think which is full of old stories." the Doctor said right away.

"Oh my…"

Petrified Grace stared at him because she could not believe that those words had come out of another person's mouth. No one had ever shared the thoughts she had.

"You are not afraid of death?" she now asked him.

"When you see death as often as me you get used to it some time." the Doctor responded seriously without looking at her.

Now his face showed this feeling of emptiness which Grace had seen coming up before. She got closer so she could look directly in his grey eyes.

The Doctor just let a second pass then he suddenly stood up while shaking his head. He seemed to have said the last thing accidently.

"Where are you going?" Grace asked.

"It was nice to meet you, Grace." the Doctor responded. "But I should better go now…"

He gave her a last smile which this time seemed to be a forced one and then he went off.


	3. Don't be sad (3)

Grace sat still on the bench, not blinking and just staring after this strange man. But then she hastily put the notebook and the pencil in her pockets, stood up and ran after him.

"Wait!"

The Doctor did not stop even when the girl appeared at his side.

"I'm sorry, maybe I should not have asked but…"

She looked up to him but he seemed to avoid her eyes.

"I've never met someone before who thinks about such things the same way as I do." she said to him.

He still did not stop or look at her but the expression on his face had changed. Now Grace grabbed his arm. Thoughtfully she looked at him.

"There is something about you." she said to him in a quiet but serious voice. "I don't know… There is just something about you that makes you so different from other people and you also don't think like normal people."

Now the Doctor looked at her. His eyes and his face were blank.

"Please, don't go yet." Grace said. "I finally have someone to talk to…"

The Doctor's look changed again but Grace was unsure where to put his expression. With a gesture of his head he showed her that they should walk a bit together.

"There aren't many people to who I can speak about the things I sometimes would like to talk about." Grace just began. "Most people who see or hear me think I'm strange and they're afraid of me because they don't know what to say about the stuff I'm talking and writing about."

The Doctor seemed to listen to her words with true interest and did not interrupt.

"Things like death and time…" Grace slowly continued. "I just don't get it why people are afraid about those things or don't think about them a bit deeper…"

Grace sighed. The Doctor did not say a word but made with a look clear for Grace that he understood and listened to her. They walked a few metres without saying anything.

"Time always goes on and on." Grace started again. "It brings us bad experiences and the most beautiful things. And even time that has passed is still interesting because I think it is always fascinating to find out how people were before our time. That's why history is one my favourite subjects in school…"

At this point Grace stopped because she realised she was probably talking too much and got carried away.

"I'm sorry." she said and blushed a bit. "I have no idea why-"

"Fantastic!"

The Doctor suddenly had big smile on his face and now looked at her again. Grace responded with questioning eyes.

"Grace Carter, you are fantastic! I don't get this very often hearing a human talking and thinking like this!"

Grace had no idea how he had meant this last sentence but still smiled gently at his words.

"I told you" she said to him. "That's all just original me, my way of seeing the world."

He smiled at me in acknowledgment.

"An interesting way." he said.

"Thank you." she responded happily.

They kept on walking without even really knowing in which direction they were heading. Grace noticed that the Doctor's look very often went into a far distance and his thoughts seemed to wander away.

"What is a man like you" she eventually addressed him again. "Called the Doctor doing when he doesn't walk over a graveyard?"

The Doctor did not right away answer her question.

"You could say I'm a sort of traveller."

Grace looked at him and was not sure if she could really believe to one hundred per cent if he had said the truth.

"And what does travelling mean for someone like you?"

Grace would still have to wait some time until she finally got an answer to this question because now they had come to the little church which stood at the northern side of the graveyard. A group of mourners dressed in black just came out; most of them held handkerchiefs in their hands and hugged each other. The Doctor and Grace stood in front of the church a few metres away from the little crowd and carefully watched the scenery. The people were not speaking a word with each other, they all felt the same way now at this moment and they did not need words. Grace looked in their sad faces and felt sorry for them but exactly this picture in front of her was also the reason why she thought people should think more about death and time: so they could understand it better when someone died. That is the way how people would learn that death is always a part of our life and for every one life will end at some point. And if they did not understand they would maybe never be able to let this here behind them. But of course Grace still felt sorry for those people and for her it was not always easy to see people cry. She even cried when she read books or watched a movie but she never admitted that to anybody. She looked up to the Doctor who still stood next to her. He was just staring at those people without showing any emotion on his face. He did not seem to be very much affected by the whole atmosphere or maybe he just tried not to be.

_"__When you see death as often as me you get used to it some time."_

Now some people of the little group began to talk and Grace could not resist pricking up her ears:

"I'm glad everybody came…" said a man who was one of the few who had managed it not to cry.

"Yes, me too." answered a woman in a long black dress about the man's age. "It was a good ceremony, very peaceful. I think she would have liked it."

The man nodded slowly.

"It's just so sad that Rachel is now on her own. " he said. "She is already 30 but Elizabeth was the last member of her family that was still alive and now even she is gone… Must be hard for Rachel."

The woman sighed and looked around. Her eyes just stopped for a moment when she saw Grace and the Doctor but then she seemed to notice something.

"Where is Rachel by the way?"

The man looked around as well to see if the woman was right.

"She's maybe still inside the church. Saying Good-Bye properly. She's probably going to follow us later."

The woman nodded now and they went together to the others of the group who spoke a few words with each other and then slowly and quietly started to leave the graveyard heading towards the car park. The Doctor and Grace watched them silently until they had all gone. They said nothing to each other for a few seconds and just stood there in front of the church.

"You know, this is what I mean." Grace then said quietly to the Doctor. "Maybe it would-"

Grace stopped abruptly. There was suddenly a strange coldness going through her chest and she shivered. For a long moment she was petrified before she looked up to the Doctor. He looked at her too for a moment, his eyes were not blinking.

"Did you feel that too?" she asked him.

He just stared and breathed out carefully. A small, white cloud came out of his mouth like it was winter and minus ten degrees.

"What the hell…?!"

Grace was unable to move. She exhaled as well and out of her mouth came a little cloud. But as suddenly as the coldness had come it faded away.

"What was that?"

The Doctor did not say anything. He turned around in different directions and looked around eagerly. His face this time showed clear emotions: interest and attention. Grace had absolutely no idea what was going or what she should do. But then suddenly the Doctor disappeared from her side, he ran towards the church.

"Doctor!" Grace shouted after him.

But he was in the church. For a couple of seconds Grace stood there not knowing what she should do now. There was this strange coldness and now the Doctor had just run into the little church. Confused Grace looked desperately around her.

"Ah, damn it!"

Before she could help herself she followed the Doctor into the church.

"Doctor! What is going-"

She stopped so sharply that she almost fell over because of the sudden stop. She stood beside the Doctor who also stared but definitely seemed to find this more thrilling than Grace.

But "Oh my-" and "What the-?!" were the only words that came out of her mouth for the next moments.

A young woman lay on the ground of the church, right in the middle of the little floor. She seemed to be unconscious but the strangest thing was that there was some kind of white smoke flying out of her into the air. It looked like the white clouds Grace and the Doctor had exhaled outside. The smoke left the body of the woman, who was probably this Rachel, Grace suggested, and in the shape of a stream it flew up. There was an altar in the church over which hung a figure of Jesus Christ. And in this figure flew the smoke of Rachel who looked very pale and weak.

"Doctor! What is that?!" Grace said.

"I don't know." he answered more sounding excited than scared.

Grace looked at the poor woman who was not able to do anything. Maybe she was dying! Grace started walking towards her to help but

"No, don't touch her!" the Doctor called after her and Grace stopped.

Horrified she looked between him and Rachel.

"Why can't I-"

But once again Grace was cut off in the middle of her sentence because now the strangest thing of her whole life happened.


	4. Don't be sad (4)

The clouds had disappeared and now both of them looked up to the figure of Jesus Christ. It almost looked like it was moving then there was an extraordinary light but it was not just that. After a few seconds there was something in the shape of a body coming out of the figure, it looked like something had hid in there. But this thing was more than just a dark silhouette! It flew and there was something attached to its back.

"Doctor…"

Stunned Grace stumbled a few steps back and now stood beside the Doctor again.

"Grace, you should leave the church!" he suddenly said in a serious tone.

"What is this thing?!" she almost shouted at him.

"Leave the church!"

Grace looked scared at the Doctor who saw directly in her eyes. He was very alarmed and serious about this. Grace went a few steps back, ready to follow the Doctor's orders but then they saw all of it.

The body now had fully appeared in the church and Grace looked at it with big eyes and her mouth wide open. This creature was about two metres tall and had long dark red hair. First Grace thought it was the body of an ordinary woman but then these strange things on the creature's back became visible. They were wings! Big, beautiful, night-blue wings! They were separated into two parts, there was one part of the wings that bowed in upper direction and the part under the first one made a bow downwards so it looked a little bit like the wings of a butterfly but with feathers. The whole skin of the creature seemed to be out of light, her whole body was glowing in a strange colour.

First Grace stared at the creature, afraid but as she took a second look her eyes became shiny. This was one of the most beautiful things she had ever seen! But how was this apparition even possible? Now the Doctor took a step forward. His expression was similar to Grace's.

"Is this an- an angel?!" Grace now said to him in disbelief.

"Almost looks like it, doesn't it?" the Doctor answered.

"So this is an actual angel?"

"I don't know." he responded. "Let's ask it."

He took another few steps forward. Now the angel creature looked at him. She had violet eyes.

"You are ancient." the creature spoke with a beautiful voice which seemed to have the sound of the sun.

"Like yourself." the Doctor answered politely. "I'm the Doctor. May I head your name too?"

"The Doctor" the creature said quietly. "This name has been part of time for many years and brought dark clouds over the universe."

The Doctor did not respond to this. He still looked at the creature without moving a muscle.

"I am called Lyverthia and I belong to the race of the Herylans."

The Doctor's face suddenly brightened up.

"You're a Herylan from the planet Kamaterion!" he said excited.

"Yes, I am." Lyverthia answered.

"Where is she from?!" Grace now said because she was completely lost. "Kempti-"

"Kamaterion!" the Doctor interrupted. "This planet is about 200 light-years way from your earth."

Grace stared at him. Was the Doctor now really trying to explain to her that this thing-

"You mean this is an-"

"What are you doing here on this planet?" the Doctor addressed Lyverthia again in a more serious tone.

"I clean this world." the Herylan answered.

"You clean this world?" Grace now said and dared to take a few steps forward as well.

The Herylan looked at her intensively with her dark violet eyes.

"Of what?" the Doctor asked the creature in a curious but also sharp tone.

"Of the-"

Rachel moved again. She had not opened her eyes again and she still seemed to be unconscious but her mouth was open and she now started to cough heavily. There were still little white clouds coming out of her. Grace could not stop herself anymore and ran to her.

"Grace!"

She ignored the Doctor and took a look at Rachel. She had stopped coughing and her face was almost as white as a bed sheet and her body was terribly cold. Her chest did not move.

"She doesn't breath, Doctor!" Grace shouted and the Doctor's look became alarmed and serious. Grace put a hand around one of Rachel's wrist. "She- she is dead!"

The Doctor instantly looked up to Lyverthia again his eyes shimmering furiously.

"You're cleaning this world of what?!" he now almost shouted at her.

"Of the sadness of those lost creatures." Lyverthia answered without any kind of real emotion in her voice.

"You killed her!" Grace yelled at her.

"No" Lyverthia simply said. "I improved this soul and now she can be happy again."

"You took the life of a young woman!" Grace responded angrily.

"Of course."

Petrified Grace looked at the Doctor. But he had realised what was really going on and showed her a look that told her that she should move away from the body. Grace got up from her knees and carefully walked back.

"What do you mean?" she asked the Doctor.

"You're a Herylan so you are not able to have the feeling of sadness." the Doctor explained while looking at Lyverthia. "For you sadness is an emotion that should not exist."

"What?!"

Grace stared at the Doctor in absolute disbelief. What kind of story was this supposed to be?

"A Herylan can feel any emotion you can think of." the Doctor answered her doubtful looking face. "Except sadness."

Grace had no idea how she should react to this. By now she didn't have a single clue what the hell was going on here.

"That's why you are here." the Doctor continued. "The graveyard is the best place to find tears and sadness because humans feel this way about dead people."

He glared at Lyverthia who did not move or say anything.

"But why are you actually here?" the Doctor now asked her. "No one likes to do extra work and you would not come to this place voluntarily so you must have landed here by accident."

"It doesn't matter how I came here." Lyverthia eventually spoke again. "I feel glad to have landed on this planet because now I can help those poor souls and free them from the most terrible emotion there has ever been! They can feel happy and never have to feel this horrible pain ever again."

"But sadness is not a bad feeling!" Grace suddenly shouted out of nowhere.

But the Doctor and Lyverthia looked at her. The Doctor seemed surprised but Lyverthia's expression had turned angry.

"Sadness is not a terrible emotion at all! We need this feeling, you have to be sad and spend some tears from time to time so you can deal with bad things that happen to you. Sadness helps us to get over experiences and to think about things! Maybe it's not the most beautiful emotion we have but without this feeling a human would not be a human anymore!"

The Doctor smiled briefly in respect when Grace had finished and gave her an appreciative look. Grace's breathing was fast and her sudden openness quickly had gone again. Nervously she looked up to Lyverthia who watched her thoroughly.

"You ignorant little human girl!" she said angrily and moved her wings so that there was a very strong wind inside the church. "The horror of sadness seems to have obscured your mind! You need to be joyful again!"

With a big movement of her wings she moved threateningly forward. Scared Grace staggered a few steps back.

"Don't you dare to touch her mind!"

The Doctor stood up for Grace and fetched a strange silver thing from his jacket pocket and pointed it at the Herylan. He pressed a little button and it made a high pitched tone and blue light appeared at the front which seemed to have an effect on Lyverthia. She closed her eyes and covered her face with her wings. She moved slowly away from them, became transparent and disappeared through the wall of the church.


	5. Don't be sad (5)

"Is- is she away?" Grace asked with a shaky voice.

"No" he answered her seriously and turned around to leave the church. Grace followed him as quickly as she was able to in this moment. "I just weakened her for a second, she's probably already on her way to the next people who feel sad."

They hurried out of the church and over the graveyard. While the Doctor seemed to be very concentrated and serious Grace silently went after him. Her mind was completely out of order. Could it really be that she had just seen some sort of angel?

"What was that thing?"

"A Herylan like she told us." the Doctor just answered without looking at her.

"Are you trying to explain me that this was some sort of alien?!" Grace asked with a high voice.

"Yes, exactly that." the Doctor responded and smiled sarcastically for a second.

"Okay…"

Grace was wordless. She had no idea what she was supposed to think or say. Was she dreaming or had her imagination just gone crazy?

"Grace" the Doctor now addressed her again. "You better go home now. You don't have to be dragged into this. Just go home and forget about everything you saw today."

Stunned Grace looked at the Doctor.

"And what about you and this alien thing?!" she asked him reproachfully.

"I can deal with her on my own. Just go home!"

Grace could not believe that the Doctor now actually wanted her to leave and to forget about the fact that she had seen an actual alien. How could she abandon him in such a weird situation?

"You can't really expect that you can just leave me here!" she said to him.

"Yes I can now go." the Doctor responded as politely as possible and still hurrying over the graveyard.

They now had come to the car park where the mourners had gone (they obviously had already left) and Grace looked around scared but also curious. Fortunately (or unfortunately) she could not see any angel like creatures. But Grace saw one other weird thing on the car park to which the Doctor was heading.

It was some sort of big blue box. There was a sign on the top that said "Police Public Call Box" and there was also some kind of instruction shield on the door. Grace knew these things, they had been used in the middle of the 20th century when you had problems with criminals and there was no police nearby. What was such thing doing on the car park of a graveyard and above all: why did the Doctor so eagerly head for it?

"Why is here…" Grace wanted to say but actually she did not know which words she should use; by now there was too much confusion.

Now the Doctor had a key in his hands and they finally stood in front of this strange blue Police box. The Doctor faced Grace.

"You don't have to know anything about this." he said. "Just go home now, don't talk about what you have heard and forget about me and everything you have seen today."

He put the key into the keyhole of the box turned it and opened the door.

"No, wait-!" Grace said but he was gone and had closed the door.

Stunned Grace stood there, knowing that there was an alien who killed humans and that a strange man called the Doctor seemed to know a lot of stuff about it and had just disappeared into a blue Police box.

"No, no, no, no, no!" she said. "You can't just let me stay here and tell me to forget about you, you idiot!"

Grace could hear a strange noise that seemed to come from inside the blue box so she hurried up, opened the door and stepped into this blue bizarre thing.

"Wow…" Grace only said quietly.

Lights, technical stuff, machines Grace didn't know at what to focus first. She was standing in the middle of a gigantic room which was full of lights, mechanisms and several other things she was not even able to guess for what they were used. The Doctor pressing buttons while he watched several monitors stood in the middle of this first big room, where a console and a shiny column seemed to form the heart of this box. Behind it Grace was unable to say how further this room and its corridors went.

"What is this?" she finally asked with shiny eyes and a big surprised smile on her face.

"It's my TARDIS." the Doctor answered naturally while working at the machine platform.

"Your what?"

"Time And Relative Dimension In Space" he explained.

"It's bigger on the inside!" Grace exclaimed.

"I know, I noticed that too." the Doctor answered sarcastically to interrupt her. "Explanations later, we have to follow this Herylan."

He did something at the mechanisms again and this big column in the middle of the room started to move and made a similar sound like the one Grace had heard outside.

"What are you-"

"We have to find this Herylan otherwise it could kill every human being on this planet." the Doctor said. "We have to find out where the biggest accumulation of sadness is nearby."

"The group of mourners we saw!" Grace answered him after she had managed it to concentrate again.

The Doctor looked at her, he was not blinking.

"Ten people who cry about the death of a friend." he said. "The perfect start for a Herylan, it will not be able to ignore those people! - But where did they go?"

Surprisingly quick Grace had an answer for him:

"There is some sort of restaurant or café it's called 'Alex' they probably went there!"

The Doctor looked at her.

"Fantastic! Then let's go!"

He pulled a lever and the ground under their feet began slightly to vibrate.

"How do you know they are there?" the Doctor now asked Grace.

Grace gulped nervously and looked at the ground. Only hesitatingly she answered him:

"We were there after my dad's funeral and it's the fanciest and best place in our little town for such an occasion…"

The Doctor watched how she stood there for a second. Then something seemed to have moved on one of the monitors in front of him.

"There she is!" he said and Grace ran the little stair case up and stood beside him.

The Doctor looked at a small dark green monitor that seemed to be some sort of radar, there was something blinking and moving on it.

"That's her." he said. "And there is your town." He moved his finger to a bigger standing point. "Let's just hope that I can manage it to get the TARDIS as near to this restaurant as possible so we get there first…"

He turned a small wheel, pressed another button and pulled a lever. The vibration stopped and the Doctor ran away from the machine and outside the door. Still very confused and wondering what all this doings at this strange machine had been about Grace followed him. Only tentatively she walked past the console, down the stairs and opened the door.

"We've moved!" she said laughing in disbelief. "We have actually moved!"

Grace turned around to look at the blue bo- TARDIS. It was not very big from the outside and did not have any spectacular appearance. Grace touched the front site. It was made out of simply hard wood, nothing else! She turned around to face the Doctor again who looked around nervously and tensely.

"How can we-"

"Where is this restaurant?!" the Doctor asked.

Grace looked around for a second to see where they had landed and thought about the way for a moment.

"This way!" she said and ran so the Doctor could follow her.

They ran out of a little site street and came out to the main street. Grace turned right, the Doctor next to her. Since it was only a small town not many people were around and strangely turned around to stare after this strange looking teenager and a man who were running alarmed through the streets. The Doctor was running slightly ahead of Grace who did not have all the stamina to keep up the quick running.

"Come on, Grace!"

The Doctor suddenly took Grace's hand so she could keep up with him. Surprised she looked up to him, while they continued running. She was again blushing because of this sudden surprise, what it was for Grace, so they had almost missed the little turn-off which led to the 'Alex'.

"Left!" she shouted and the Doctor took the corner sharply but without losing much speed. "So, how exactly are you going to stop this Herylan thing?" she now asked the Doctor because Grace wanted to know if he already had some kind of plan.

"I'll think of something." the Doctor answered still holding her hand.

"What means you have absolutely no idea!" Grace realised right away.

"Exactly!" he answered and Grace could see an amused grin on his face.

They kept running following the little path that led them towards a little forest and by now they could see the small restaurant staying there peacefully like there was nothing unusual going to come. Suddenly both of them stopped on halfway. Grace just stared and shivered. Although she was not looking at him Grace knew that the Doctor probably also felt this strange coldness again.

"She's here." he said in a dry tone.

Grace had to cough and a little white cloud ascended into the warm air of the late summer day.

"But where-" she tried after she had caught herself but already during the question they both saw the bright light which illuminated the café in the distance.

"Come on!"

The Doctor got hold of Grace's hand again and they ran as fast as they could. The 'Alex' was just 200 metres away and the closer they got the more Grace felt this coldness which was not just in the air but seemed to go right through her chest.


	6. Don't be sad (6)

Wow, for my first Doctor Who FanFiction my statistics don't look that bad ^_^ And I really don't want to be indignant but with 7 favourites and 10 followers some response would be nice. Don't get me wrong! I mean, I see that you guys are reading the story but of course I also want to know what you like and where I can improve. Thanks guys for still reading, I hope you enjoy that chapter ^_^

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As they reached the café, about ten people plus the staff lay on the terrace, not moving and above them flew the great, bright, winged figure of Lyverthia who had closed her eyes and again consumed those white clouds of sadness. Grace ran towards the woman they had listened to talking before on the graveyard and grabbed her wrist. No pulse. She hurried to another mourner and touched his hand. Grace groaned and ran to the next one-

"It's no use." the Doctor said. "They're already gone."

Grace turned around. With a frightened face expression but blank eyes she looked at him.

"But- But we gotta do something!" she said.

"Exactly!" the Doctor answered and now gazed up to the alien angel from Kamaterion.

"Oi, space angel!"

Lyverthia opened her eyes, her look slowly moved downwards to the Doctor.

"What point are you trying to make here? This can't be your purpose! You're taking away from them what makes them human!"

"Then the species of mankind has no choice of living a good and happy life." Lyverthia answered and that was when not just seriousness but also coldness came into her clear voice.

"What do you mean?" Grace shouted up to her.

"Mankind does not find on its own the way into the light." Lyverthia said. "So I guide them!"

The streams of white clouds around them faded away, the people lay still motionless on the terrace. Lyverthia spread out her blue wings and began to move them. Wind blew over the meadow and the near forest. Grace ran to the Doctor and got hold of him.

"What's she doing?!" she asked him without taking her eyes of the Herylan.

"She's reaching out!" the Doctor answered, his eyes wide opened. "She takes the sadness from every single human on the planet!"

"But this would mean-" Grace exclaimed in horror.

"Indeed!" now Lyverthia spoke again as gusts of wind turned white and centred around her wings. "I can lead seven billion lost souls into the light."

"But you can't do this!" Grace yelled. "That's just not the way human minds should be!"

"You speak like this because you have not seen the truth." Lyverthia responded, even in a somehow friendly manner. "But I have not forgotten you, little human girl."

There was another wave of the wings and Grace fell to the ground. The coldness was suddenly closer than ever before, Grace could literally feel it closing in in her chest. She heard her own heart beat loud and clear; it became slower as Grace felt her energy being sucked out of her body. The Doctor was right away at her side and held her wrist in his hand but then he also gently touched Grace's hand.

"Lyverthia, you have got to stop!" he shouted angrily, almost in pure fury. "Do you want to be responsible for the death of a whole species? I can tell that this is something not easily to live with!"

Grace only heard his voice in the distance and did not even have the strength to make sense out of his words.

"Listen to me!" the Doctor now almost desperately yelled. "Those people have done nothing wrong! Out there are seven billion humans who haven't even reached half the intellect they are probably capable of. And you're not really supporting with taking inside you what makes them unique. Can't you feel it?"

Grace only just about saw the last image of Lyverthia who suddenly was shaking her head angrily and flapped her wings even quicker. Then Grace was not able to keep her head up anymore. Immediately the Doctor's attention went back to her. Grace searched for the touch of his hand, squeezed it gently.

"Doctor…"

He looked her in the eyes and Grace could see how desperate he was. His eyes were blank.

"I'm sorry." he said slowly and took her hand between his. "I just…"

He looked despairingly up to Lyverthia and then back at Grace. Her vision slowly became darker and she was about to faint. She was not sure if his eyes really were fixed upon her or something behind her. Then he sank his head towards Grace's ear.

"Go to the TARDIS." he whispered. "I'll be okay."

He let go off Grace's hand and touched her face. She could feel his fingers on her cheeks and her temples and then suddenly the warmth came back. Grace could feel how her heart beat became normal again and stood up when she was suddenly able to move again.

"Doctor!" Grace at first exclaimed in happiness. "How did you-?"

But then she saw him something between lying and sitting on the ground. He had a flat breathing.

"Doctor!"

"Grace, just go!" he said as loud as he could. "I'll manage this, you go to the TARDIS she will safe you."

"But I can't just-"

"Go!" he shouted then his head sank to the ground.

Grace stumbled backwards, full of panic her look moved from the Doctor to Lyverthia and back. He wanted her to abandon him but how could she be able to do this? There had to be a way of stopping this Herylan alien-angel thing! If Grace wanted to think of something she had to do it quickly because she already started to exhale little clouds again. She had no weapons, no Doctor, no one else for help, just herself. Grace Carter. There was not much she could do and the Doctor had already tried talking to Lyverthia and it had just made her even angrier. Grace could run away as the Doctor had said or she stayed and did the only thing that had now come to her mind.

"Lyverthia!"

Her bright violet eyes opened but she did not face Grace as she slowly walked up to her.

"I can understand why your species has abandoned the feeling of sadness. I know how terrible this emotion can be when being felt."

Grace was just desperately speaking out the words that came to her mind she had no idea if this was really going to make sense.

"But we humans chose this emotion we are not ashamed of it! We always continue though we continuously torture ourselves in tears."

"Precisely that!" Lyverthia responded. "So why shall I not free mankind of its endless depression?"

"Because it gives us comfort at the same moment!" Grace answered her and now spoke as fast as she could. "Sadness helps us to cope with experiences and it carries memories."

Grace looked at her for a moment. She watched those strange white streams flying into Lyverthia. Grace observed the sadness of mankind being absorbed by one creature. And then she remembered what the Doctor had said.

"You can see them, can't you?" she began to realise. "You're absorbing all this sadness you should know what I mean!"

"No!" she interrupted sharply.

Grace had absolutely no idea if this was making any sense at all but it was at least something. She simply could not care about this at the moment whether this was going to work or not.

"You can't take all this emotion without being affected by it!" Grace combined. "Look deep, Lyverthia! All those memories, all those thoughts in one emotion. You can feel it, can't you?"

Lyverthia now turned her head towards Grace. The expression in her eyes had somehow changed.

"Tell me. What do you see?"

It just had to work, Grace thought desperately.

"All this suffering, all those things this species has been through." Lyverthia now said in a slightly shivering voice. "Humans left by other humans, beloved creatures died, belongings broken… No!"

"You can't ignore it!" Grace said. "What you're taking has to go somewhere. Emotions and specifically sadness cannot be buried."

"But how?!" Lyverthia exclaimed with a trembling voice, now looking directly at Grace. "How can you live when there is sadness existing?"

"Because we chose it." Grace simply answered.

One single tear came out of Lyverthia eyes and then she screamed. Grace put her hands over her ears and watched Lyverthia how she raised her arms and the beating of her wings becoming faster and faster. In a big shine of bright light which flew up into the air she was gone.

The birds of the forest had flown away, not even there chirping could be heard anymore. Only the fine rustling of the trees slowly faded away as the last beats of Lyverthia's wings ceased.

"I've done it…" Grace slowly realised. "O my god!"

She sighed relieved and gazed into the sky for a moment.

"Doctor!"

For the moment she had nearly forgotten him and now dashed towards him. He lay motionless on the ground. Grace took his hand and was relieved to find a pulse, although it was still a bit slow. But he was still not moving.

"How do I get you up?"

Grace looked around her. Maybe in the café she could find something or phone for help.

"Try a banana."

Grace looked down and there he was.

"A banana?" she asked him laughing while she helped him to get up.

"Why not? Bananas are good!"

They looked at each other for a moment before Grace burst out into laughter.


End file.
